Soil moisture conditions during thawing on a slope in the Daisetsu Mountains, Hokkaido, Japan

Precise monitoring of total potential, thawing front depth and groundwater level indicate the soil moisture conditions in a turf-banked terrace during the thawing season in the Daisetsu Mountains, Japan. During thaw, the soil was in an almost unsaturated condition, and unsaturated soil water infiltr ated downward. A small saturated zone sometimes appeared on the frost table with a duration of less than one day. In such cases the water in the satur ated zone moved upward to a low total potential layer. The saturated zone w as formed not by vertical water infiltration from the surface, but most lik ely by melting of ice lenses. Copyright (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.